Would You Believe It? Oddities from Many Lands (Sep, 1936)

“DEATH-RAY” inventors are legendary. Each strives to produce some mysterious “ray” which will kill at a distance. Mr. Henry Fleur claims to have invented a machine to do this and, according to press reports, proved that he could kill snakes, lizards and termites. Although heat may kill at a distance, no new ray has been discovered to date and the known ones, even in combination, are not “death rays,” in the accepted meaning of this term.

Garbo a Bust?

SO popular is the Great Garbo in Belgium that an enterprising admirer, to commemorate her thirtieth birthday, is turning out thousands of plaster busts. So now, we have an overwhelming adulation resulting in an industry!

Garbo is made into a household ornament by pouring a plaster mixture into a mold. Liquid bronze is applied with a spray gun after the plaster is dry, and there is Greta all ready to be put on the piano or chiffonier.—Swift.

A Monkey with a Lion’s Roar. MALE RED HOWLERS, common in the jungles along the Mazaruni River, British Guiana, South America, possess blood-chilling voices that rival in ferocity that of the lion!

While to hear this voice, in the midst of the jungle in the dead of night, would probably turn one cold with fear, it is truly magnificent and is aided in its great power by the strange sounding boxes shown at the right. These sounding boxes are possessed by only the male monkeys.— Paul G. Howes.

“Spreading the Table Cloth”.

THE phenomenon at Table Mountain, South Africa, known as “the spreading of the table cloth,” is clearly visible in the photo below. The sheet of cloud, lying on the flat top of the mountain, and the cascade effect, swept over the precipice by wind (sometimes to a depth of 1,000 feet), adds to the illusion —Pictograms.

“Dragon Tree” of “Happy Island”.

TENERIFFE, loftiest of the Fortunate or Canary Islands, claims possession of the oldest tree in the Western Hemisphere, the “Dragon Tree.” The basis for this claim seems to be “It was the oldest tree when grandfather was a boy.”—Swift.

A Permanent “Permanent Lipstick”.

WOMEN, in their never-ending quest for beauty, have turned to the ancient art of tattooing to preserve that cherry-red-lipped effect. Maybe it’s for economy’s sake but, whatever the reason, ladies of the British Isles are now having the lips, eyebrows and eyelashes electrically tattooed with appropriate coloring. No changing lip and eyebrow shapes then.

World’s Largest Giants?

THE Misses Trone of Holland have, astounded Paris with their height. The smaller one is only seven feet, three inches, but the baby of the family has already attained: a height of nine feet. The female giants have; had their future in Paris assured when’ they dimmed the glory of Mittu, a Roumanian giant who measured a mere eight and one – half feet. Compare them with normal woman and table.—Globe.

War Horses.

IN order to train animals against “Flammenwerfers” in wars, Italian officers jump them through flaming hurdles (see photo at the right).

Freak Golf Shot THERE are golf shots and, then again, there are golf shots, but Mr. G. C. Weihl of St. Joseph, Mo., has proof of his. His driven golf ball killed a bird 50 feet in the air.—Kobel.

Tuq-o’-War Between Block of Concrete and Regiment.

THE tug-o’-war teams of the Royal Norfolk Regiment at Aldershot, England, have a novel way of training. An old water tank, filled with cement, is slung on a derrick, and the men can tug all they want but the enemy just won’t give in.

A Big Fish Story.

THE “furee pisces” or fur-bearing fish, is the name given to the specimen illustrated below, which Fred Kranhold claims he caught in a northern lake. The gentleman, who seems to be a cross between a big-game hunter and a fisherman, goes on to explain that these fish may be cultivated for their thick fur—like that of a rabbit.—P. S. Don’t believe this one—it’s a phoney!

Cover-All Hat.

SEEN on all the beaches this summer is the new cartwheel hat, which not only keeps the sun out of your eyes, but provides a sort of tent.

A New Weave?.

NO this is not what it seems to be; just a photo of an ordinary nail file magnified photomicrographically.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT PHOTOS.

Photographs on these pages are paid for at the rate of $3.00 each. If you have any which you think would be of interest to our readers, send them to the editor of Mechanics and Handicraft, 22 West 48th Street. New York, N.Y.